August: Osage County Review.

Based on a play by Tracy Letts, August Osage County was transformed for the big screen staring some fantastic screen legends one of which is none other than the beautiful Meryl Streep; although in this she was anything but!  This movie isn’t for everyone:  it’s depressing in places, it’s exhausting and it’s full of truly despicable people, but this being said the acting is top notch the roles are strong and the directing was superb.

This is the story of the Weston Family: Violet, a drug-addicted cancer patient (Meryl Streep); her husband Beverley, a well-known poet (Sam Shepard) & their daughters Barbara (Julia Roberts), Karen (Juliette Lewis), and Ivy (Julianne Nicholson); Violet's sister Minnie Fae Aiken (Margo Martindale), her husband Charles (Chris Cooper) and their son, known as Little Charles (Benedict Cumberbatch). And what happens to this family when they are bought together after the death of Violet’s husband Beverly.

Julia Roberts shines in this movie, she portrays Barbara and she nailed it, her character is tired (she looks it too, grey roots showing, bags under the eyes and baggy clothes make Julia look drab, something l didn’t think possible), cynical, passive aggressive but through this is trying to hold herself and her daughter, who is 14 going on 22 (play by Abigail Breslin)  together while going through a divorce to her husband (played by Ewan McGregor) something she chooses not tell the family, instead bringing the husband along for the ride. Julia makes you feel for her character you ache for her at times and it isn’t till the end that you feel a little relief for her.  Up until now my favourite performance by Julia was Erin Brockovich but this one surpasses it, showing that Julia is without doubt, an A list actress.

We then have Meryl playing Violet, Meryl has given us plenty of character over the years but l think this may be the biggest monster of them all, playing a character with mouth cancer (still smokes like a chimney), addicted to pills, arrogant and all together unpleasant you can’t help but be riveted to the screen when Meryl is on it, her acting is brilliant. From her slurred speech to her spaced out moments she never falters. It’s hard to pick who to watch when you have Meryl and Julia on the same screen (watch out for the “eat your fish b*!ch” scene it’s brilliant and shows just how talented these women are) they both deserve Oscars for their work in this.

An actor who stands out in this is Benedict Cumberbatch (playing “Little Charles”), he is one of the few characters you like and even though you know he is doing something terribly wrong you feel nothing but sadness for him especially when you see his mother Minnie Fae Aiken (Margo Martindale) has next to no feelings towards him.  His father Charles (Chris Cooper) is a quiet character one who likes to keep the peace, when he finally does snap it’s not a scene to miss. Chris Cooper gives a fantastic performance.

There is not much of a soundtrack to this but Eric Clapton’s song Lay Down Sally is prominent throughout the movie, and used whenever Violet is about to go into a spin it’s used well and is a good cue to know when things are about to go from bad to worse.  The cinematography is beautifully done and used throughout the film representing the people themselves (a scene shows that Violet and Beverly have taped the blinds closed and the curtains are never open, showing how much they live in their own separate worlds unaware of time passing).

I have seen a lot of movies throughout the year and have a group of movies that stayed in my head and shone through. This is definitely one of them, one l hope to watch again very soon even if it does make me feel like l need a drink afterwards.